


Challenging the Past

by AsheTarasovich (natalieashe), Boffin1710



Series: Can't Drown My Demons, They Know How To Swim [43]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Established Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Recovery, The things we don’t say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 01:36:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15853569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalieashe/pseuds/AsheTarasovich, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boffin1710/pseuds/Boffin1710
Summary: Dealing with difficult situations when alcohol is off limits





	Challenging the Past

"I'm so pleased! Fuck, I'm bloody ecstatic!" Alec seized Q in a crushing hug, finally letting go of the tension of the last few weeks. He felt lighter, high on relief. "We should celebrate!"

Q managed to extricate himself from Alec's enthusiasm laughing at the bigger man's attempt to cling on to him. It had been a long time since he had allowed Alec more than a passing squeeze of his shoulder. Something inside Q had needed to detach as if that would make receiving terrible news easier for them to bear.

But in the end, the news hadn't been terrible at all. Not brilliant, but certainly not the devastation Q had anticipated and Alec had privately feared.

"I'm going to celebrate with a hot shower. And then I want..." Q smacked his lips. "Oooh, beef pad see ew. And chicken satay. Spring rolls and dumplings!! I haven't eaten since at least 1pm and I'm starving."

“Go! I can handle this,” referring to ordering takeaway Thai. Alec shooed him towards the stairs and the shower. “Just don’t spend a lifetime it there or I might just have your starters all to myself. “

“Wanker...” Q called back at him as he headed up the stairs. The mood has lightened immensely in the flat. A few days... even early in the day such teasing snark wouldn’t have even come into play in their conversations. 

Alec headed into the kitchen to rummage through their massive pile of takeaway menus to find Q’s favourite Thai restaurant. It was definitely time to celebrate in their own way. 

Celebrate. That was the key word at the moment. Good news... for both of them. A definite weight lifted off their world. Alec placed the order and then as he turned to head back to the lounge the cupboard were they stashed the alcohol caught his eye. Celebration. Maybe this called for a drink. 

There was a half full bottle of vodka in there that he’d been ignoring for months. He’d forgotten about it. Almost. Curling his large fingers around it felt like coming home and he smiled fondly, placing it on the counter and finding a glass which he filled with ice. It was the comfort of habit that had him twisting off the cap and…

Alec put the bottle down again next to his glass and took a seat on one of the bar stools. He knew how it would taste. How smooth it would be, the ice giving it a nice chilled edge that it was missing from being in the cupboard instead of the freezer. It would be warm going down, the heat spreading through his chest and then his stomach. He’d missed it. One wouldn’t hurt.

He sat further back on the stool and clasped his hands in his lap, tracing the shape of the bottle with his eyes. Examining the intricacies of the label. Waited for the anticipation of that first mouthful to overwhelm him.

It didn’t come. Was conspicuous by its absence. Alec frowned and regarded the bottle suspiciously. He didn’t want a drink. Nothing about it made him want to pick up the bottle and pour it into his glass. He couldn’t recall the last time… or when it had EVER… been the case. Silently he returned the bottle to the cupboard.

Q stood at the bottom of the stairs in the shadows watching the scene play out in the kitchen. Bottle back in the cupboard and Alec sitting again staring at the glass of ice in front of him. 

It had been a long hard fought struggle some days for Alec. They’d weather a few storms and rocky times but he had managed to come out on the other side. 

Q knew there would be tests, trials, slide back moments along the way but he couldn’t help but softly smile at the small victory that had just taken place in the kitchen. 

They both had their issues... and god know some were more extreme than others. But the more importantly, they supported each other through them even when each was being an utter bastard. And he knew that he had been a berk over that last week or two driving Alec to distraction. That right there made what he had just witnessed even more important. They had survived another trial and were still alright. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been a loony wanker. Didn’t mean push things. Ta for putting up with me.” Q moved to the doorway of the kitchen catching Alec off guard who was still lost in thought. 

“It’s what I do,” Alec smiled, pushing away the glass. He sighed deeply. 

“I don’t know how I dealt with things before. I suppose I didn’t really, just drowned it in alcohol. These last few weeks I’ve stopped thinking about it all of the time and I didn’t even realise.”

Alec held out his hand to Q and drew him closer. “Not that I want to attach any positives to this whole experience, but I’ve proved to myself I can handle difficult times without a drink.”

Q fitted himself into the curve of Alec’s body, tilting his head so he could plant a kiss on Alec’s jaw. “There are other ways to celebrate...” Q smirked. “We have a spare hour until food arrives.”


End file.
